LAST UPDATE | 24 Jan

US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump has threatened Canada with a 100% tariff if its Prime Minister Mark Carney proceeds with a trade deal with China.

In a post to Truth Social, Trump referred to Carney as “Governor Carney” and said, “if [Carney] thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘Drop Off Port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken.

“China will eat Canada alive, completely devour it, including the destruction of their businesses, social fabric, and general way of life.

“If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A.”

Later, Trump returned to Truth Social to say: “The last thing the World needs is to have China take over Canada. It’s NOT going to happen, or even come close to happening!”

Earlier this month, in the first visit by a Canadian leader to China in eight years, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China in talks with President Xi Jinping.

It was reported that Carney had struck a deal with Beijing that would see Canada ease tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles that it imposed in tandem with the US in 2024.

In return, China will lower retaliatory tariffs on key Canadian agricultural products.

The deal comes as tensions between Canada and its largest trading partner the US have soared. 

Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week saw him say “we know the old order is not coming back” and the world is in the “midst of a rupture, not a transition”.

He noted that “great powers” have begun to use “tariffs as leverage”.

The threat of the imposition of tariffs on nations across the world by the United States has been a key feature of Trump’s second presidential term. There was relief this week for Europe when he backed down from a threatened 10% tariff on eight European nations due to their opposition to his pledged takeover of Greenland.

The US President said a “framework” had been agreed for a future deal relating to Greenland and the wider Arctic region, causing him to waive his threat.

At the same gathering of global leaders, Trump said “Canada lives because of the United States”, a claim Carney denounced. Following this, Trump withdrew an invitation to join his “Board of Peace”, his self-styled billion-dollar body for resolving global conflict.

Among those who have agreed to be on the board is Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ireland was issued an invitation to join at the cost of $1 billion, a price tag that led Finance Minister Simon Harris to say “we won’t be doing that” and he “can’t see any scenario” in which Ireland would take part in the board.